Adult Attachment,Differentiation of Self,and Relationship Satisfaction in Lesbians and Gay Men

We examined adult attachment styles, differentiation of self, and relationship satisfaction in a sample of 298 Italian lesbians (48%) and gay men (52%), all of whom were ages 19–71 years (M?=?36.1; SD?=?11.8) and in a couple relationship for at least six months. Participants were recruited via the Internet and completed a web-based survey. We tested the hypotheses that attachment insecurity and differentiation of self would predict relationship satisfaction, as well as that differentiation of self would mediate the relationship between adult attachment and relationship satisfaction. Results supported the hypotheses, thus indicating that attachment insecurity and differentiation of self were correlated with and predicted relationship satisfaction. Furthermore, results supported the hypothesized mediating role of differentiation of self. Finally, results indicated that younger participants, lesbians, and participants in civil unions reported higher levels of relationship satisfaction. Implications for counselors and therapists working with LG populations are discussed.

     

Gender/ed identities: an overview of our current work as child psychotherapists in the Gender Identity Development Service

Abstract

This paper is adapted from a presentation first given at the 2017 Association of Child Psychotherapists (ACP) Conference. We hope to give a feel of our work as psychoanalytic child psychotherapists working in a Tier 4 national assessment service for gender variant children and connect with our colleagues working therapeutically with these families in Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) and other settings. Gender variance does not have a single cause, or straightforward developmental pathway; rather it is a complex interplay of multiple factors, akin to sexuality in the diverse manifestations and ‘tributaries’ taken. This paper is given as a plea for complexity, to counter the current intense focus on gender identity and the consequent reductionism this can lead to. To this end, three case studies from the clinic, taken from Under Five, Latency and Adolescent phases of development, are explored. The complexity of the cases is then discussed, followed by parallel issues of development, divergence and difference. These three ‘average’ cases from the Gender Identity Development Services (GIDS) serve to demonstrate the need for child psychotherapy as part of multi-disciplinary thinking about gender variance and how attention must be maintained to each unique story and process of identity development; as well as our clinical task to establish and encourage depressive functioning and secondary processes where possible.     

Male and Female Voices in Commercials: Analysis of Effectiveness, Adequacy for the Product, Attention and Recall

In radio advertising, there is a strong tendency to employ male voices more often than female voices in the belief that male voices sound more convincing. As a result, a gender stereotype is established which would appear to be upheld more by tradition than actual advertising effectiveness. This experimental study analyses the influence of gender on the effectiveness of the voice in terms of adequacy to the product, the ability to attract listeners’ attention and the degree to which voice gender contributes to recall. The objective is to ascertain whether or not the patent infra-use of the female voice is justified. To this end, a gender-balanced sample of 372 students of journalism from Spain was employed. The findings show that when a question is asked about an alleged association with a pre-existing vocal stereotype the answer is consistent with the gender of the voice and the type of product, though this does not occur when the aspects are unrelated, such as voice effectiveness, attention or recall. Accordingly, the supremacy of the male voice over the female voice in radio advertising and the repeated association between voices and types of products is more based on tradition than on alleged advertising effectiveness.     

Embodied cognition and skilled health behaviour

The present research examines health persuasion from an embodied cognition perspective by proposing that engaging the motor system during presentation of a health message will lead individuals to become more skilled at performing the prescribed behaviour. Participants watched a video on the importance of flossing while either imaging themselves flossing or imaging themselves flossing while minimally engaging the motor system (i.e. touching a piece of floss). Females (but not males) who touched an individual floss while watching the video demonstrated better flossing skills 1 week later. Over time, participants (both males and females) who engaged the motor system also developed more accessible attitudes and had a stronger relationship between their perceived flossing efficacy and actual flossing skill. Implications for the theories of embodied cognition and health interventions are discussed.     

Time Doesn’t Change Everything: The Longitudinal Course of Distress Tolerance and its Relationship with Externalizing and Internalizing Symptoms During Early Adolescence

Although distress tolerance is an emerging construct of empirical interest, we know little about its temporal change, developmental trajectory, and prospective relationships with maladaptive behaviors. The current study examined the developmental trajectory (mean- and individual-level change, and rank-order stability) of distress tolerance in an adolescent sample of boys and girls (N?=?277) followed over a four-year period. Next we examined if distress tolerance influenced change in Externalizing (EXT) and Internalizing (INT) symptoms, and if EXT and INT symptoms in turn influenced change in distress tolerance. Finally, we examined if any of these trends differed by gender. Results indicated that distress tolerance is temporally stable, with little mean- or individual-level change. Latent growth models reported that level of distress tolerance is cross-sectionally associated with both EXT and INT symptoms, yet longitudinally, only associated with EXT symptoms. These results suggest that distress tolerance should be a focus of research on etiology and intervention.     

Observational Learning in Pigeons: The effects of Model Proficiency on Observer Performance

Observational learning of a successive visual discrimination problem by pigeons was studied using conspecifics as models performing at proficient or at nonproficient levels. During the observational period, observers were confined without response opportunity and were subsequently trained in the model's discriminative task. Significantly better performance in subsequent learning was found for observers of nonproficient models. In contrast, no significant differences in learning of the visual discrimination task were found between pigeons that observed proficient models and pigeons that had undergone only confinement in the observation apparatus or those trained without prior observation or confinement experience. The apparent paradox of less proficient models producing better learners may be related to the consequences of observing additional negative-stimulus responding per se or to observation of models' behavior changing from less proficient to more proficient with consequent improvement in reinforcement opportunity.     

Reaching Out: Improving the Continuity of Care of Community Mental Health Services Through a Weekly Climbing Group

This mixed-method study examined the impact of a novel activity group on engagement in care. Thirty-two participants were recruited from National Health Service (NHS) community mental health services in three inner-London boroughs. Participants undertook eight weekly sessions of supervised climbing. There was a significant quantitative improvement in the domain “individual progress” (Z = 2.12, p = 0.03). Qualitative data indicated a wide range of benefits. The study identified both direct and indirect benefits to continuity of care. The study validates the use of a climbing activity group to engage and benefit community mental health service users.     

Relationships between cognitive coping,self-esteem,anxiety and depression: A cluster-analysis approach

It is important for prevention efforts and for designing appropriate interventions to identify people at risk of depression while considering cognitive coping and individual characteristics. This study with 334 French adults examined the ways in which people may combine the use of several cognitive coping strategies and investigated whether depression, self-esteem, and state- and trait-anxiety would differ across distinctive cognitive coping profiles. A two-phased cluster analytic plan was employed to derive clusters of cognitive coping profiles. We identified three profiles that differed according to the levels of depression, self-esteem, and state- and trait-anxiety. Research should therefore not focus on a single cognitive coping strategy, but on all cognitive coping strategies that are used simultaneously to investigate the relation between cognitive coping and emotional problems. Cognitive coping profiles provided a deeper understanding of how different individuals cope with negative and unpleasant events, and they allowed us to identify targeted groups that are most likely to benefit from specific mental health promotion and prevention campaigns.     

How Children Determine the Size of 3D Structures: Investigating Factors Influencing Strategy Choice

This study explores changes in students’ strategies as they solve different types of volume problems. Fifth graders were presented with pictures showing 3D objects and a unit cube; they determined how many cubes made up the object and explained their responses. We examined whether children transferred strategies across problem types, varying in terms of (a) availability of grids that divided objects into individual unit cubes, (b) order of items, (c) object shape, and (d) availability of the unit cube. Children's strategy choices varied systematically with object and task characteristics. They were more likely to use conceptually appropriate strategies when presented with grids. With non-gridded objects, they were more likely to treat a 3D object as a collection of 2D faces. Presenting gridded items first increased the use of conceptually appropriate strategies on the non-gridded items. We discuss findings in the context of Siegler's theory of strategy choice and address educational implications.